MCP Brave Search Server

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A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides web search capabilities via the Brave Search API.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 18 or higher)
• Brave Search API Key (free from Brave)

Installation

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

1. Get a Brave API Key:

• Go to Brave Search API
• Sign up for a free API key
• Copy the API key

Configuration for IntelliJ GitHub Copilot Plugin

Step 1: Set Environment Variable

Windows (PowerShell):

[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('BRAVE_API_KEY', 'your-api-key-here', 'User')

Or add it to ~/.config/mcp/mcp.json (see below).

Step 2: Configure MCP Server in Copilot Plugin

Create or edit the file ~/.config/mcp/mcp.json (on Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.config\mcp\mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\endre\\WebstormProjects\\MCP-Server\\index.js"],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your-brave-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: Adjust the path in args to match your actual project path.

Alternative Configuration (if installed globally):

If you want to make the server globally available, you can add a bin field to package.json and link it with npm link.

Usage

The server provides the following tool:

brave_search

Performs a web search using the Brave Search API.

Parameters:

• query (string, required): The search query
• count (number, optional): Number of results (default: 10, maximum: 20)

Example:

Search the web for "MCP Protocol Specification"

Benefits of Brave Search API

• Free: Generous free tier quota
• Privacy: No tracking IDs or user profiling
• Modern: Current web indexes
• Additional Features: News results are automatically displayed

Manual Testing

You can manually test the server:

# First, set the environment variable
$env:BRAVE_API_KEY="your-api-key"

# Start the server
npm start

Troubleshooting

"BRAVE_API_KEY environment variable is not set"

Make sure you have configured the API key as described above.

Server doesn't start in Copilot Plugin

1. Check the Copilot plugin logs
2. Ensure the path in mcp.json is correct
3. Test if Node.js is available: node --version

Brave API Errors

• Verify that your API key is valid
• Make sure you haven't exceeded your quota
• Check the Brave Search API rate limits

License

MIT